cbs news and leading eight points in a poll by "the washington post." these polls mirror an advantage president obama held in ohio in three polls last week, worth noting the president has a lead that is outside the margin of error. for governor romney, time that cruel, cruel mistress is slipping away. early voting begins in ohio next tuesday. can he win without the state? if history is any judge no republican in history has won without ohio. according to the latest nbc news battleground map the president is expected to get 243 electoral votes to romney's 191. with eight tossup states. obama win in ohio with its 18 electoral votes would put him at 261 electoral votes, that is just nine away from winning re-election. surprising exactly no one ohio has been a top focus for candidates. while governor romney logged 17 trips to the state this election cycle president obama is making

his 13th visit this year alone. earlier this month the democratic ticket made clear just how much ohio means to them. >> if we win ohio, we win the election. >> if we win toledo, we will win ohio. and if we win ohio we'll win this election. >> john heilemann, there has been no shortage of love for the state of ohio this election cycle. president obama and mitt romney both speaking at 1:05 today. i wonder your take on the state it's interesting when you look at the dynamics economically at play in ohio. governor cakasic's great job of sheparding the ohio economy to account for state unemployment 7.2%, lower than the national average, it also undercuts mitt romney's message this economy isn't in turn around and time to get someone else.

>> makes john kasic a hobbled sur row gate for mitt romney, you can't say the economy is great when you're trying to prove the economy is bad. thing about ohio it's an important state, and remember when 2004 the whole election came down to john kerry losing narrowly to george w. bush in that state, the president has a couple huge advantages we're seeing in the ten-point game, one is the auto bailout. there is no state besides michigan be impacted more positively by the auto bailout than ohio. 82 out of 88 counties have an auto parts supplier in them that's felt a direct effect of the bailout. part of why the economy is doing better there. it's enough to move the needle. also the case that anti-union backlash in the industrial midwest and wisconsin has motivated organized labor in ohio in a way, the case always for democrats ohio is the place where organized labor has the most impact. this year motivating them more so. all that adds up to it's been an uphill climb for mitt romney, ten points is probably not what

that margin will be on election day, but it's -- it is a state that's very hard to figure out a map for mitt romney to win. possible but not -- very hard. almost kind of fantastical, ha his naer to. >> so many other things about mitt romney -- >> it's just very, very hard. >> kurt andersen a son of the midwest is. >> i am. >> and john boehner said yesterday, one the things that probably works against romney in ohio is the fact that governor kasic has done a good job of fixing government regulation in ohio. >> one way of putting it. >> i think there are a lot of things. i am reassured by the fact that it's coming down to ohio in some sense because it is as representative of america as you could make a state be. it's not iowa or new hampshire, having this crazy disproportionate power to nominate presidents. i also have to think, in addition to what john said about the auto bailout being undeniable good thing for the administration, for obama, in

ohio, romney's particular formative personal problems i think were coming -- are losing him the election in ohio as well. the rich guy, the boss, the -- all that stuff, that is part narrative, part real, just is killing him. >> the james lipton was on this program and said another word for job creators is, bosses. and that's exactly -- the republicans have done a masterful job in sort of changing the game on that but mitt romney is a boss fund mentally as you said. melinda, your colleague, e.j. dion in the washington post writes the latest washington post polls in ohio and florida underscore the trouble mitt romney is having gaining on the economy. basically e.j. saying the

republicans have had a very sort of crass attitude towards how the americans will vote. if you're looking at the poll numbers seems like the american public has more of a nuance view as far as the economy. >> the interesting thing to me about the numbers in ohio, is that even those who say the economy is going badly, blame kasic as much as they blame obama and those who think it's going well give the credit it to obama as much as to kasic. so, you know, i do think that what john said about the auto industry is very important and also, women voters are really breaking for obama in ohio as they are elsewhere and in that way, paul ryan has been a huge damaging factor to romney across the board, but seemingly in places like ohio, florida, and virginia in particular. >> which is not how they thought this was going to play out. you know, the -- hugo, i want to

play a new ad from the romney campaign, too many americans the title of it. mitt romney straight to camera no suit jacket, let's take a look. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class families. the difference is, my policies will make things better for them. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job. >> i think that's a strong ad for mitt romney. the question is why he wasn't playing that two or three months ago. >> it is a good ad and you're right. there's a larger dynamic in ohio that actually is true nationally, too, which is you have some economic improvement, you have -- there's a sort of consumer confidence number that came out, highest since february, the housing market that's starting to actually show real upticks nationally and the distressed markets, so it's going to be hard for mitt romney to go around selling the voice

of gloom. that's something people don't want to hear. they're changing tactics. the compassion idea, something else, compassion and mitt romney , not a natural fit but they have to try something new. i think, i would be interested to see if they come out with a harder economic message because ultimately that's where his real advantage with the president would lie if they could come up with a story there that's more compelling than they've been able to so far. >> i've been surprised the extent to which he stuck with the same message in ohio, saying stuff like, we're going to turn out to be greece. >> which he said yesterday. >> he said that yesterday. he also said yesterday, what obama's selling is so foreign to what we've ever accepted in america, you know, that -- >> you don't have to go to greece, obviously. that's changing the subject into some other -- >> to a place that most ohio voters and american voters have no idea what you're talk about. >> the number in the times front page story about the deficit

and, you know, the fourth straight year of trillion plus deficit, these are things that concern -- >> the american voters. >> and a number that resonates. talk about trillion dollar deficits an every normal person is going to go what are we doing. >> let's be clear about that ad. the ad is a strong ad, but generally candidates do straight to camera ads when they feel like they're in trouble. president obama did his one and only after the welfare ads started to hurt him, you didn't build that, he went straight to camera. romney's ad is a response to the 47% and what that's doing to him in places including ohio and to go back to curt's point about why romney is personally beyond the economic numbers, the president has had a problem with white working-class vote es for a long time. worse in the south than in the industrial midwest but still there in the industrial midwest. mitt romney is almost like -- almost the jerry built to be the worst possible candidate to talk to white working-class voters. only one ohio by one point

because he was so weak. he has been portrayed by the president and by priorities usa very effectively, the anti-bain ads, stuff over the summer they ran more of those ads in ohio than any place else between the two of them and they did a good job of putting him in a bad position so when the 47% thing happened it came out of romney's mouth reinforced the image that campaign had done a great job of -- >> didn't they know this was going to be an issue. we know now they're playing that great intro video from the rnc introduces mitt romney as a human being, beginning to re-air it. the question is why didn't they do it right after the convention when they didn't get a bounce, there was this -- you know this narrative cementing about mitt romney being this sort of elute plutocrat that had no communion with the everyday american, working clars american, you know, early voting starts next week. >> i think the bigger question is the same question, when you dial it back further, republicans ask, why didn't

romney over the summer start doing positive advertising in a big way to try to take on the attacks that were coming on bain and his tax returns and all that stuff. it's one of the great historical questions. some day a history will be written of this campaign by someone and getting to the bottom of decisions they made around trying to prophylactically push off what were going to be attacks one of the blunders they made. >> game change. >> one of the most positive things and powerful things at the republican convention were the people from the mormon church saying, you know, he wrote the will of my dying 14-year-old. where have those people been. >> ann romney mentioned it on leno and we will talk that about later on the show. i will say in times of duress, i always go straight to camera, after the break, as both campaigns barnstorm and blanket the air waves in battleground states, one factor that could make six weeks largely irrelevant and could spell trouble for governor romney. >> i think a loyal republican says the house is on fire, and time is running out, if we want to save this house, we better do

it now. guess what? time is running out. you know when early voting starts in ohio. in less than a week. i was saying last week, 45 days, there aren't really 45 days left. they got to turn this thing around or they lose. >> team romney's hunt for a red october next on "now." bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad

we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. [ male announcer ] fedex office. every room deserves to look us what our great.te color is? and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now get $37 basic installation on all special order carpet.

something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. made gluten-free cereals in a bunch of yummy flavors. like cinnamon chex, honey nut chex, and chocolate chex... we're in cereal heaven. so thanks. from the mcgregors, 'cause we love chex.

the first debate isn't until next week but you don't have to wait until then let alone election day to cast your vote. many parts of the country you can do it early. early voting under way in south dakota, idaho and vermont. tomorrow in the battleground states of iowa and next week ohio. meanwhile, absentee ballots are being accepted in two dozen states including north carolina, wisconsin, virginia and new hampshire. in 2008, 30% of all votes were cast early. the percentages were higher in some important battleground states. in colorado nearly 80% of the votes were cast early. in north carolina it was about 60%. and in florida it was a little more than half. the data shows registered democrats in swing states turned out at a higher rate than registered republicans. coincidently or not at all some in the gop are fearing it could benefit before october's crucial face-off where mitt romney must pull the sword from the stone.

>> i think they want as many people to vote now as possible. >> absolutely. >> guess what? we don't know how the debates will go. once you cast your vote, there's no going back and saying what -- i don't think obama did very well. i want to change my vote. i don't like this early voting. never have. >> early voting helps democrats, maybe early voting isn't so good if you're a republican. >> i think we're going to find all kinds of fraud going on in early voting suddenly. the other case laura ingraman in the right are making questioning polls in general, it's -- it's -- the desperation is pathetic. one could connect it to the general, you know, disbelieving in science thing, but really, at this point to say no, no, no, all these polls, except rasmussen, are faulty because they oversample-- somes is just sad. >> this is the disavow of reality that seems to be

permeating the romney campaign and joe scarborough highlighted this morning. i will highlight it today, this afternoon. an op-ed in the "wall street journal" by jason riley that says mr. romney would do better to focus more on reducinged his unforced errors and less on the fourth estate's political bias if whining about the liberal media was a winning strategy for republicans newt gingrich would be the nominee. hugo, i will call your attention -- >> liberal media. >> new york times hugo lingren, this i think is really -- i like this because it references stink bombs also. the ap quoting michael mcdonald of george mason university which tracks early voting saying if you wait until the election prior to the election to release your stink bomb you've lost coloradans. if you've got the game changer you have to do that soon. >> i agree with that. look, the romney campaign if they could buy time they would be buying it. i don't know what they want to make the most of this last push. it's hard to see -- i mean i

think the debates will be interesting for the exact matter that something unexpected has to happen to really change the race for romney. it's hard to imagine -- it's hard to imagine obama going in there and doing a terrible job. it's possible. sort of equally impossible to imagine romney doing such an outstanding job, so different than we've ever expected that would also make a difference and yet, that's what he really has to go for. >> you say that except in 2004, i keep talking about 2004 today, you know, george bush had about a six-point lead nationally going into the first debate. john kerry did not do anything magical in that first debate but managed to perform better than people expected him to and better than george w. bush. he picked up about four points nationally after the first debate. it's not unconceivable mitt romney could do that. the key with debates does president obama perform poorly or mitt romney well. the key with all debates what's the moment. is there a big moment that crashes through and changes people's perceptions about the dynamic in a big way. governor romney will not only

have to perform well in general because president obama's likely to perform well in general but he has to have a moment like that or two moments like that in the first debate that will make people see him with new eyes. that's a very -- never done that before but he could do it. john kerry you would have said had no chance but did it eight years ago. >> the other thing is you're running into this early voting thing as well, which it's not actually 40 some odd days until the election, probably a narrower window, looking at colorado 80% of the people that voted in colorado in in the 2008 election cycle voted early. part of the problem for mitt romney is the ground game issue. the reason that democrats do better is because president obama has a and the dnc a fierce get out the vote and early registration drive and ground game. >> i don't think that early voting is going to make the debates any less important. especially because those people who vote early in most places, the third of americans who will vote early, have made up their mind, they are the partisans,

the strong republicans or democrats. >> right. >> and no matter what happens in those debates they know how they're going to vote. i so agree with john that we look to those moments well, look to reagan saying there you go again. >> right. >> you know, or to h.w. bush looking at his watch. there are moments that can make a huge difference and i don't think it's out of the question for mitt romney to pull one of those off, especially because maybe we forget, but barack obama was not a terrific -- he got better, but he was not a terrific debater in '08. i think some interesting things could still happen. >> one thing about the liberal media wants in addition to, perhaps, romney losing is action. if it's all over now, six weeks of like it's all over, i think -- >> right. >> you're going to see all media including the liberal media's desire for a possible game change be -- >> contest modifiers. >> be tremendous over the next

six weeks. >> like you can't say it enough times, early voting is partisans. anybody who's still undecided after three and a half years of barack obama and this whole campaign, someone who is undecided they're still undecided and going to wait for the debate and that's the vote that matters in the end. >> there's even an extension of that point which is so when you talk about those people, those undecides who are going down to the wire before they decide who to vote for, what are the issues that are going to drive them? it seems pretty obvious to me it's basic economic stuff. you know, because those are the people who do not have an ideological stake in either candidate and looking where the news so-called exogenous events might have impact. >> and -- >> europe, middle east. >> the people who drive you crazy saying i think i need more information. >> but -- >> thinking of a litmus test like wait, how do i feel, who's -- >> or seeing them both on stage together and haven't focused in, i like that guy. >> it is worth noting that -- it is impressive in so far as the president is now according to a

cnbc poll up 9% when asked who's better on the economy, president obama 43%, mitt romney 34%. that's a significant -- that is a significant number as anything else, the fact that obama has now turned around public perception on his stewardship of the economy. >> so much comes down to trust and likability on the presidential level and he has the advantage on those two for sure. >> john, your colleague, friend, one haft of the emmy award winning team that is "game change" going to keep call you award winning -- >> please do. >> mark halperin has a funny -- mark halperin is a great comic but a funny sort of bit in his note today that says who am i and is talking clearly about mitt romney, now i can't even find it. it's up. who am i? you think that's going to hold through -- >> i hate to tell you, but i think that was not written about

mitt romney. i think it was written about both of them. >> really? >> yes. >> what a spin. >> that's my cone, that many people yesterday said, he's unleashed with both on president obama. and people like you interpret it as mitt romney. it's a great warshack test. >> it is. >> my view is the answer is both. mark loves to not have either or, he loves both. >> the brilliance of the contest modifying "game change" team never know which an them are coming from. >> opacity is our middle name. >> what is? >> opacity is. coming up, operation pocahontas, scott brown/elizabeth warren race. the increasingly nasty campaign and examine a few other head scratchers ahead on "now." . andrew rosen is the fourth generation of rosenwatch tanks.

find his mamly's hand made wooden tanks on roof tons. even today these tanks are shaped by hand with half century old tools. he says you don't throw out what works. you just build upon it. for more watch your business kwois sunday morning at 7:30 on msnbc. most of the pain i experience is in my knees. when i think of aspirin, i really think of it as that bottle in the back of my parents' medicine cabinet. finding bayer advanced was huge. i was really surprised by how well it worked. and i'd definitely use it again. put bayer advanced aspirin to the test for yourself at fastreliefchallenge.com. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out

about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled

in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

i did not make a mistake with this guy. i can tell you this he's going to be the next vice president of the united states. >> but mistakes aside does the relationship between governor romney and his running mate now reside at camp awkward? we will look at the struggle to let ryan be ryan and romney's surrogate problem next on "now." ally bank. why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries)

a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally. begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

wthe future of our medicare andr electiosocial security. for.... man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me. woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affect seniors today and in the future? find out with the aarp voters' guide at earnedasay.org wow. that's quite a guy, suspeisn't ? paul ryan, isn't that something. wait a second.

romney/ryan. romney/ryan. romney/ryan, there we go. that's great. thank you. >> the already weird interpersonal dynamics on the republican ticket reached a possible dezooe knit of awkwardness yesterday as governor romney campaigned with his running mate. as with all complex relationships it wasn't always like this. square jauds and earn had nest as a 1950's sitcom star he sounded like a lost member of the romney tribe. with ryan drawing crowds the alpha dog appears to be getting tired of reminding people who is the campaign pate tree yashg. >> i'm putting it back into medicare and i'm the guy running for president, not him. >> ryan doesn't always seem to get the message. in days he's been reportedly acting like a rebellious teenager going back to his old ways and giving power point presentations at campaign rallies. >> we can't keep spending money we don't have. today our federal government for every dollar it spends it

borrows 36 cents on that dollar. by the time my three kids are around my age, at the top there, our debt is going to be 2.5 times the size of our economy. >> according to the former political director of the iowa republican party, ryan may have no choice, quote, i hate to say this, but if ryan wants to run for national office again, he'll probably have to wash the stench of romney off of him. kurt, the stench of romney. not exactly what you want to hear someone from your party say. >> romney has never before been accused of having anything like a stench. >> highly sanitized. >> the humanizing of mitt romney. >> i realized watching that tape of mitt romney and why he is uncomfortable and makes people feel uncomfortable, the boss who might fire you and the plutocrat, also like your date's dad you're constantly meeting and he's ac card and you're awkward and don't want to be near it. >> john, the question of paul

ryan and how he's been used or underused by the romney campaign, i think is an interesting one. the choice surprise a lot of people and the general thinking, perhaps, was that hey, mitt romney's going to get specific, he has, you know -- ryan has a clear-cut vision for the country and perhaps a sign of things to come and, in fact, mitt romney hasn't embraced the paul ryan message at all. >> i thought it was crazy to put paul ryan on the ticket because of so much baggage he brought in terms of the house republican economic plan and that is largely really unpopular with a lot of people in the country and that the last thing you want to do is twin yourself up to an unpopular congressional republican leadership and those policy specifics. if you're going to put paul ryan the intellectual, ideological architect of the primary governing document of the congressional republicans, seems like you should either not put him on the ticket or put him on and give him a bear hug. the fact they've tried to do -- to not do that, get the energy of young conservative hero paul

ryan, with -- and then distance themselves from the things that make him a conservative hero, seems whack a doodle. why not put rob portman on the ticket as people thought they were going to do from the beginning. >> with the other piece of sound demonstrates mitt romney feels like he's getting upstaged by paul ryan in terms of the love out there, which i think is emasculating to say the least, hugo. in the long scheme of this, after this is all said and done, if mitt romney doesn't win this race, is the ryan brand damaged or is it intact? >> i think it's obviously too soon to tell that. i doubt it will be severely damaged but i think, you know, for me, i think there is that initial awkwardness right after he sort of tapped him and then comes to the convention, i was expecting here's the great synthesis, worked this out, ryan's speech will lay it out, see where the romney/ryan roads meet and we're going to -- i expected that would really be the pretty big sort of new starting point for the ticket and it really wasn't. and instead, you seen a

continuation of that sort of awkwardness that was originally -- haven't mapped out the policy stuff at all. ultimately, you do want to sort of position ryan as the kind of trillion dollar fix-it man but they also have to have a broader economic optimistic outlook that both of them have to share. they have to articulate it. it can't just be about look how lousy things are, this is the president's fault. they need to get together on really reclaiming a kind of optimistic outlook for the economy and the fact that their tax and regulatory package is the way to get there. they have an argument to make. they're not making it. they're simply doing this weird dog and pony show that is -- i mean i think john said it right. >> when you talk about the dog and pony show, a larger problem as we've established with the romney narrative but he has a surrogate problem and the person supposed to save mitt romney, humanize him and do a number of other things was his wife ann romney. we were talking about this during the break. on jay leno last night asked about comments she made regarding the press and asking them to stop it.

let's hear what she had to say. >> i like seeing you get mad. did you get feedback? did you have focus people go, that's wrong? >> no. i stepped out of the interview like oh, dear, did i say it a little strong? no. everyone i've seen is like giving me high fives. >> what do you make of ann romney as a surrogate at this point in terms of burnishing her husband's brand? >> we heard early on as you said the mitt stabilizer, humanizing him, but i think maybe mitt was right when he said, at the fund-raiser that we're using ann sparingly so people don't get tired of her. because i think -- i'm not sure how well she's wearing, you know, anger, be it's very understandable, any political spouse has good reason to feel angry because it's hard to hear those kind of attacks on someone you love. definitely. and yet, it's not that appealing. it isn't just ann romney. i mean when bill clinton got

angry on hillary's behalf, didn't work that well. when teresa heinz told a reporter to shove it, not the best moment. i think that ann romney has been having some of those moments. i actually think that she explained to us better than anybody why the choice for paul ryan, though, when she said early on he's looking for someone he feels comfortable with. >> and that was it. >> and i just think, you know, the whole paul ryan not being utilized correctly, i mean you usually hear that complaint from the vice presidential nominee's camp itself and you're not doing that and i think he actually has been a pretty loyal second and that will help him maintain his brand. >> i do too. i think also the thing that will help him is the thing that alex pointed out before, and we have a been talking about, the distance -- if romney loses conservatives who consider paul ryan their hero are going to say the reason romney lost because he didn't embrace ryan enough. that will allow ryan to maintain

his heroic status with that group of intellectuals and activists the basis on which he runs if he runs in 2016. because romney for that reason, didn't give him the bear hug, he can walk away from this relatively with his political brand intact for activists and the conservative -- >> even if he had given him the bear hug. i don't know that it matters that much in terms of his future. i think both the spouse and the running mate are in kind of -- they do this same kind of thing for the candidates. i think they can accentuate -- >> one has to stick around. >> theoretically. >> but they can accentuate sort of amplify strengths and do that. i don't think they can make up for weaknesses, essential weaknesses. i don't think those roles are strong enough to do that in the national spotlight and that's what you're seeing. expecting ann to do something mitt can't do and how will that work. >> i think paul ryan comes out of this assuming he doesn't become vice president stronger than ever. this is only a good thing for him in terms of his future. >> well, he looks good in a wind

breaker. >> and showing the power points is a good thing, part of his brand. >> power points are part of you going rogue. >> it was a little bit of opacity on the part of the show. is it a joke, not a joke. >> power points. >> new punk rock. stumbling and fumbling, the fallout from the nfl's mistake prone replacement refs spreads to the political arena paul ryan took a shot at president obama and then newt gingrich got in on the act. >> a lot like the substitute referees in the sense that he's not a real president. i mean he doesn't do any of the things presidents do. he doesn't worry about any of the things presidents do. he has the white house. he has enormous power. >> class act, newt gingrich. we'll examine the ubiquitous and questionable obsession over nfl football and the referee saga, that's ahead. ♪ leaving my homeland

♪ playing a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪

♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i just can't pretend oww! ♪ [ male announcer ] careful, you're no longer invisible in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. that's the power of german engineering.

the 2012 motor trend car of the year. every room deserves to look us what our great.te color is? and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now get $37 basic installation on all special order carpet.

what started out as a cordial affair in massachusetts with both agreeing to limit funding from outside groups has take an nastier turn. polls showing the race to be a squeaker senator brown has ditched the nice guy image and honed in on elizabeth warren's claims regarding her native american hert annual. he waited a mere 30 seconds at last week's debate before throwing a punch. >> professor warren claimed she was a native american, a person of color, and as you can see she's not. >> perhaps unsatisfied with their boss's unstage racial studies some of brown's staffers decided to lower the bar over the weekend. classy. classy, classy, classy. hugo, it is worth noting basically this race is neck and neck, elizabeth warren has had

to take out ads semi explaining her native american heritage. seems like maybe the pocahontas line of attack is sticking. >> there's no question it's cheap stuff but does have an emotional appeal. checking of the box, it's a questionable thing to have done. probably done in a, you know, in a nonthinking way. it may not be that revealing of who she really is, and yet it's the kind of thing, look, he's the home player, the home state guy, and he basically wantses to make clear this is someone playing to certain advantages. it's cheap but may well be effective. >> i don't know how -- if we're talking cheap, like the tomahawk gesture auto -- >> the campaign didn't do it. the professor thing, professor warren, is, to me, pretty cheap. she could come back if there were a way to say, you know, half naked cover -- half naked -- >> nudie.

>> nudie mdle would be the equivalent. >> really want tos class this race up. >> i'm just saying. >> right. but it's worth noting wvur polling shows that voters like scott more, 36% strongly or somewhat agree that warren, quote, acts superior to other people, which is the professor thing, but on issues voters agree more with warren, 45 to 33%. john? >> there is, you know, there's issues and then there's the culture of this race and then the culture area, she's always had a problem with the fact she's been seen as cambridge and a big chunk of massachusetts that are the people elected like bill weld and other moderate republicans to statewide office in massachusetts for a long time. we know massachusetts has never elected a woman to the governorship or senate seat, so she has an uphill climb, i will say, not uphill, it's very close. she has certain things that make you -- keep him competitive. culture and potentially the

gender thing. president obama wins massachusetts by 30 points, scott brown is not going to win that race. >> that's the issue is how much the top of the ticket, top of the ballot really influences the races. >> i think it's risky for scott brown whose whole persona is nice guy to go after her on this lie watt that stuff. >> we had pocahontas but -- >> it risks one of this greatest assets whereas you know i so agree on the gender stuff. i mean, rich trumka, afl-cio came in and made that case and said it's crazy to vote against elizabeth warren on the basis of gender and you need to get over it. so i think that really is a huge issue in the race. >> but she's -- >> the likability too. that's what scott brown has going for him. >> she's trying to nationalize the race by making this a referendum on, you know, mitt romney and his policies and

tying scott brown to the broader republican party platform. >> and control the senate which she made a point in the debate over and over again. you don't want him to be the chairman of the committee if you give it to republicans it will elevate republicans throughout the senate. >> we know the gop needs to win four to gain control. todd akin is in this thing, not leaving, cannot take his name off the ticket. i want to know, how -- heilemann, is claire mccaskill going to win this? >> just complete silence. i think it's going to be a close race and it's going to be a closer race than people thought it was going to be. i think she'll probably win the race. she started her -- she has held back on doing any negative advertising because wanted to keep him in the race. did not attack him through the entire time from legitimate rape until yesterday, she has not attacked him at all. at 5:01 when it became official she launched her first negative ad against him, not a great ad.

the great ad will have all of the republican establishment trashing him in the 48 hours after he made that comment and i think that, that she's -- that -- that those -- the weight of that advertising and bringing the criticism to bear on him, that she has held back from is probably going to tilt the race in her direction. as going to end up being a lot closer than liberals could have imagined it would be. >> i've sewn polling closer than the nine points. legitimate republican figures like newt gingrich, and now john tells me senator blount, are all campaigning for todd akin. >> rick santorum and jim demint have endorsed snim because they don't want to hear from the republican base, you know, where were you for todd au kin if he loses. i mean they have to make some token effort his behalf. i think claire mccaskill has

been underestimated. i think she's overperformed for her state which is very conservative. >> there's tactical moves here that are clearly brilliant and given her awfully good chance of winning the race. >> ju jitsu. >> i think they call that playing possum. >> or playing possum. >> playing ju jitsu with a possum. >> clearly not a ju jitsu master. we're going to leave it there. >> that's the game you play with the possum or tie kwando. >> what could possibly put president obama and clinton on the same page as scott walker? football or the absence of good officiating in football. we will explore the far reaching impacts of the nfl's zebra gate next in what now. my name is adam frucci and i'm the editor of splitsider.com. i love new technology, so when i heard that american express

and twitter were teaming up, i was pretty interested. turns out you just sync your american express card securely to your twitter account, tweet specific hashtags, and you'll get offers on things you love. this totally changes the way i think about membership. saving money on the things you want. to me, that's the membership effect. nice boots! something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally.

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

welcome back. time for what now. the nfl replacement ref debacle continues to dominate the conversation today with governor romney, governor scott walker and white house press secretary jay carney weighing in. even president obama shared his thoughts tweeting -- is there a reason why this issue is getting much more attention than another labor dispute this month, the chicago teacher's strike. there would be a reason, hugo? >> melinda told us the reason. >> what is the reason, melinda? >> i was just saying, knowing nothing about the nfl, that football is so important in our culture that football is the reason for settling the chicago teachers strike so quickly because parents did not want their kids to miss out on a football game, god forbid, and

all the pressure on the point. >> all back to football. >> i would like to call a time-out, though, on all the appropriate being heaped on the guys themselves trying to call the game. it's not their fault they're out there working. it's the owners and teams that need to fork over the money to get this settled. the guys out there, a miracle they're doing as good a job they're doing. it's impossible to referee football games if you're not trained like they are. >> peoples themselves. >> 3 million -- >> i feel their pain. >> $3 million ruinounder error. >> a strange place to draw one's line if you're the team owners. >> it is a strange place. we're a strange country. thanks to curt, john, melinda and hugo. see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. pacific when joined by our favorite englishman in america, richard wolffe, and the new york sometimes david leanhart find us at facebook.com/now with alex. andrea mitchell reports is next. good afternoon, alex.

>> coming up iran's president speaks of a new world order and slams yom kippur. ambassador nicolas burns joins me next. dour doourg our hour, mitt romney and president obama campaigning 100 miles in ohio. just as new poll numbers show this is a battleground with the president pulling ahead. what's in store for football fans this sunday? maybe breaking news. "andrea mitchell reports" coming up next. >> i'm meteorologist bill karins with your business travel forecast. today umbrellas needed many areas and airport delays possible with these pockets of heavy rain and thunderstorms. continue from kansas city to st. louis, evansville, louisiana. late today have a chance of showers arriving in new york city, philadelphia and washington, d.c. kind of soggy out here in the middle of the country. now, that's what i call a test drive.

silverado! the most dependable, longest lasting, full-size pickups on the road. so, what do you think? [ engine revs ] i'll take it. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. now during chevy truck month, get 0% apr financing for 60 months or trade up to get the 2012 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $8,000. hurry in before they're all gone! there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪

it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪ side by side so you get the same coverage, often for less. that's one smart board. what else does it do, reverse gravity? [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ whooshing ] tell me about it. why am i not going anywhere? you don't believe hard enough. a smarter way to shop around. now that's progressive. call or click today. [ grunting ] wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive option than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way.

we took the best of the old and combined it with modern technology. together you get quality services on your terms, with total customer support. legalzoom documents have been accepted in all 50 states, and they're backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself. it's law that just makes sense. right now on "andrea mitchell reports" showdown in ohio. both candidates campaigning there today this hour, as new polls show mitt romney trailing the president by as much as 10 points in the all-important buckeye state. today romney got some help from the golden bear. >> very proud to be sharing this stage with my friend, mitt romney. i'm so very proud to say, god bless you, god bless america, and god bless the next president of the united states, mitt

romney. >> boycott at the u.n. the u.s. is a no show to protest against iran's president speaking on yom kippur. ahmadinejad delivers his usual diatribe against israel and the united states. >> no suspension for belichick but that won't end the furor over the replacement refs. a deal in sight? does this mean to he would tackle the deficit? ann romney dishes to jay leno about mitt. >> would you say he is frugal or cheap? >> cheap. >> cheap. really cheap. okay. >> do you want to know what he does when he leave the house? he turns off the hot water heater. >> do you know what he does when we come back from the house, he forgets he has to turn the hot water heater on, cold showers, they're not that bad. >>